The Malik Report

Update: Wrong blog--I'm a little worn out after the first day back--but let's just say that this is the Tomas Holmstrom rule in action: Via Pro Hockey Talk's James O'Brien, the Minnesota Wild defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in a shootout on Friday night, but a certain Brad Meier (remember him from the Olympics?) waved off a Keith Ballard goal because, uh...Erik Haula was standing in the approximate vicinity of Eddie Lack:

Sometime in the middle of my uber-anxiety attack, I managed to hop on to the internet to check my email, I saw that ESPN had posted an Insider-only entry listing the "Top 25 trade targets" regarding next Wednesday's deadline, and ESPN's Craig Custance and Frank Provenzano suggested the following regarding a 28-year-old defenseman making $4 million (with a $3.775 million cap hit) in the last year of a 2-year, $7.5 million contract:

Hopefully this is my last "late to the party" post: The Grand Rapids Griffins are hosting a game to help raise funds for cancer research on March 7th, and this weekend, the Toledo Walleye are hosting a pair of games to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity:

5th annual Pink in the Rink weekend: March 1-2!

Join the Toledo Walleye, ProMedica Cancer Institute and Komen for the Cure of Northwest Ohio in the fight against breast cancer. These special game nights will focus on generating awareness of the disease and supporting efforts to find a cure as we celebrate survivorship.

SATURDAY, MARCH 1: 7 p.m.

Ice surface will be painted pink

Pink 'Design-A-Sign' activity

Pink Glow Wands to the first 2,000 fans

Postgame skate on the pink ice; skate rental available for $5 with 100% of the proceeds to benefit Komen

This is a bit belated but it's certainly worth noting: According to the Grand Rapids Press's Peter J. Wallner, there was a reason that the Red Wings temporarily recalled Ryan Sproul prior to knowing whether Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson would be good to go for Wednesday's game against Montreal--and this is "bummerrific" news regarding a prospect who grew by leaps and bounds during his North American pro debut, to the point that he was the Grand Rapids Griffins' representative at the AHL's All-Star Game:

Alexey Marchenko, who made the AHL All-Star Classic with the Grand Rapids Griffins and is one of Detroit’s top defensive prospects, is expected to miss the rest of the season following an ankle injury.

Ryan Martin, the Red Wings assistant general manger, said Wednesday that Marchenko will have surgery "in the next couple days" for a severe high ankle sprain that occurred in Sunday’s game with the Griffins at Milwaukee.

The worst thing I can say about Nicklas Lidstrom, close to two years after he retired, is the truth: From every indication I've read over the past twenty-two months, Lidstrom has consistently and repeatedly stated that he is very, very happy being retired, enjoying the heck out of coaching kids' hockey for his alma mater, Vasteras IK, and living in a gorgeous house with a lake-front view.

I can assure you that Lidstrom, whose work with Vasteras IK's 13-year-old's team amounts to a 5-day-a-week job in his words, hasn't changed a lick in terms of his enjoyment of his new role or his desire to retain showcasing his hockey skills on a rink full of kids who weren't born until after Lidstrom won his first Stanley Cup:

DETROIT– The Detroit Red Wings announced today a game time change for Nick Lidstrom Jersey Retirement Night, presented by Flagstar Bank, on Thursday, March 6. The club’s 133rd consecutive sellout, originally posted as a 7:30 p.m. start, has been pushed back to 8:00 p.m. to accommodate the pre-game ceremony retiring No. 5 in honor of defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.

Doors to Joe Louis Arena will open at 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to arrive early for the game, as the pre-game ceremony will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. The ceremony will conclude by 7:20 p.m., and the game against the visiting Colorado Avalanche will begin at 8:00 p.m.

George sidelined = behind on charitable reminders. Kevin Miller and a slate of Red Wings Alumni and Michigan State University alums are battling tonight at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing to help raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project, the United Way 2-1-1 and the Steadfast Foundation:

Updated 6x at 6:10 PM: As noted this morning, Chris Neil and Johan Franzen got into a dust-up in the 3rd period of the Red Wings-Senators game last night, and Franzen was not amused by Captain Caveman's antics...

And Neil is apparently affirming that he is in fact still a dick:

Neil on Franzen comments:"I will take my cape off whenever he takes the yellow streak off the middle of his back." More later.

Not agreeing to fight two games into return from concussion, after scoring three goals, with 6-and-a-half left in the 3rd period = "Yellow?"

Chris Neil = dumbass.

I may not follow up on this one, because we all know Neil's spiel by now. As Franzen said, when SuperSkunk comes in with his cape on after the fact, he tends to leave a self-righteous stink behind him.

I'm just getting back into the swing of things after dealing with a severe anxiety attack a couple of days ago (I tend to talk about my depression more regularly, but my anxiety's more debilitating, and yes, 36 on a one-to-ten scale can indeed leave you in need of sensory depravation), but even having been out of the loop for a bit...

Assets: A polished two-way performer, he displays both offensive acumen and shutdown capability. Can play wing if need be and has tremendous determination. Has the size teams crave at the center position. Gets under opponents' skin. Is money standing in front of the opposing goal on power plays.

Flaws: Is a little inconsistent when it comes to both producing points and playing the body. Will occasionally cross the line in his attempt to get opponents off their game, and has become increasingly reluctant to drop the gloves. Injuries have crept up due to his rugged style of game.

I believe Kesler's statements suggesting that he wants to remain a Canuck, and as he grew up an Avs fan and went to Ohio State while turning down scholarships from U of M and MSU (Hometown ties for the Livonia boy? Not so much), I'm going to defer to JJ from Kansas on Winging it in Motown regarding what a certain Ken Holland had to say to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun about his trade deadline priorities:

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.